Methods and systems for implementing modal changes in a device in response to proximity and force indications

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems and devices implement changes in operating mode for a media player, wireless telephone, portable computer or other device having a force sensor and a proximity sensor. A force indication is received from the force sensor and a proximity indication is received from the proximity sensor responsive to user input. The device is then switched from a second operating mode to a first operating mode in response to an occurrence of user input being indicated by both the force and proximity indications. A trigger event occurring during one of the operating modes evokes a response by the device that is not evoked by the trigger event in the other of the first and the second operating modes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to user interfaces, and moreparticularly relates to techniques and systems for changing an operatingmode of a media player, wireless telephone, portable computer or otherdevice based upon sensed proximity and force information.

BACKGROUND

Many media players, portable computers, personal digital assistants(PDAs), video game players, wireless phones and other devices nowreceive user inputs via proximity sensors. Typically, when a user placesa finger, stylus or other input object near the proximity sensor, acapacitive, inductive, acoustic, optical, or other effect is producedthat can be detected and correlated to the position of the object. Thispositional information can in turn be used to move a cursor or otherindicator on a display screen, to scroll through text elements on thescreen, or for any other user interface purpose. Although proximitysensors are readily implemented in many different types of devices, suchsensors can be susceptible to accidental activation, as when a userunintentionally brushes a hand, finger, or other body part within thesensing region of the proximity sensor.

In addition to receiving proximity inputs, many devices include buttonsor other sensors that detect an applied physical force. Such buttons andother force-sensitive inputs are also susceptible to accidentalactuation that can result in undesired effects upon device operation. Ina conventional media player, for example, an accidental bump against atable or other object can undesirably activate or deactivate the playeritself, or could otherwise disrupt operation of the player. Suchdisruptions are particularly common (and particularly annoying) indevices that are intended to be portable, because such devices are oftenused in environments where they can be easily bumped or jostled.

To prevent accidental activation of force and/or proximity inputsensors, many devices incorporate a mechanical “hold switch”. When theswitch is activated, inputs received at one or more sensors are ignored.While the hold switch can be effective in reducing the effects ofundesired inputs, such switches typically add complexity to the userinterface, requiring the user to remember to engage and disengage thehold switch at appropriate times. Such switches also add bulk, cost andincreased mechanical complexity to the device. Further, mechanicalswitches can be difficult to effectively seal against environmentaleffects, thereby creating a potential avenue for dust, moisture or otherpollutants to enter the device.

It is therefore desirable to provide new systems and techniques forimplementing modal changes in a media player, portable computer,portable telephone or other device. Such systems and techniques shouldbe easy to implement and use, and should not require significantadditional mechanical complexity. Other desirable features andcharacteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detaileddescription and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to various exemplary embodiments, new methods, systems anddevices for changing the operating mode of a media player, wirelesstelephone, portable computer or other device process indicationsresponsive to the user input that are received from a force sensor and aproximity sensor. The device is switched between operating modes inresponse to an occurrence of user input being indicated by both theforce and proximity indications.

Using this broad concept, many different systems and methods can bedeveloped and implemented to provide any number of benefits. Forexample, one of the operating modes can be a “hold” mode to implement“hold switch” functionality, wherein device inputs are processeddifferently in “hold” mode than they are processed in another mode.Similarly, force and proximity indications can be used to present “helpwindow” information or the like. These and other exemplary embodimentsare described in additional detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of the present invention will hereinafter be describedin conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numeralsdenote like elements, and

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional view of an exemplarydevice that includes force and proximity sensing;

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a cross-sectional view of an exemplarydevice when an external force is applied by an object;

FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a cross-sectional view of an alternateexemplary device when an external force is applied by an object;

FIG. 3 is a state diagram showing an exemplary technique for processinginput in a device;

FIG. 4 is a front view of an exemplary device that is capable ofdisplaying a “help window” in response to force and proximityindications; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for presenting informationin response to force and proximity indications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and isnot intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of theinvention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by anyexpressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field,background, brief summary or the following detailed description.

According to various exemplary embodiments, the operating mode of amedia player, portable computer, wireless telephone or other device isswitched in response to an occurrence of the user input being identifiedby both a proximity indication and a force indication. The proximityindication is provided by one or more proximity sensors, such as acapacitive, resistive, inductive, optical, infrared, ultrasound, sonicor other proximity sensor and is produced as a digital or analogfunction of the proximity of a user input object (e.g. a stylus, theuser's finger or hand or the like). The force indication is provided byone or more force sensors such as a mechanical switch, strain gauge,load cell, piezoelectric force sensor, piezoresistive force sensor orthe like as a digital or analog function of a physical force appliedwith the object. By switching the operating mode in response to both theapplied physical force and the proximity of the input object, modechanges can occur implicitly as part of normal user interactions withthe device, while those same mode changes remain immune to many types ofaccidental disturbance.

Such modal switching can be used to implement “hold-switch”functionality, for example, by having the device respond to triggerevents such as button input, proximity input, force input, or the likein a “normal operation” mode but not in a “hold” mode. In suchembodiments, accidental actuation of the force sensor by objectsaccidentally bumping against the device can be ignored or otherwiseprevented from adversely affecting device behavior when the device is inthe “hold” mode. When the device is returned to a normal operating mode,force and/or proximity indications of user input (or other triggerevents) can be processed as appropriate. Further, because the device canbe switched between operating modes through simple application of bothforce and proximity input, the need for a separate mechanical switch toselect between such modes is reduced or eliminated. Other types of modalchanges could be used in a wide variety of alternate embodiments.

Turning now to the drawing figures and with initial reference now toFIGS. 1 and 2A-B, an exemplary device 100 capable of processing userinput applied at or near a sensing region 102 by an object 128 suitablyincludes a proximity sensor 105 and one or more force sensors 118A-B,119 communicating with a processor 114. Depending upon the particularimplementation, processor 114 may interact with an optional storagedevice 116, an optional display 104, an optional external interface 132and/or the like to carry out any appropriate function. In a conventionalmedia player implementation, for example, device 100 may include a diskdrive, flash memory or other storage device 116 capable of storing mediadata. As the media files are played for the user (e.g. via anaudio/video decoder or the like), information such as track name, artistand/or the like may be presented on display 104, on another displayassociated with an external host coupled to device 100 via interface132, and/or the like. While the invention is frequently described hereinwith reference to a media player for purposes of simplicity and clarity,equivalent structures and concepts could be applied to any otherelectronic device such as any type of portable media system, personaldigital assistant (PDA), handheld computer, laptop or desktop personalcomputer, mobile telephone, peripheral input device, video game playeror controller, remote control, input device and/or the like. The variousfeatures described herein may therefore be applied in any manner acrossmany types of equivalent devices 100.

Processor 114 is any component or module capable of receiving inputsfrom sensors 105, 118A-B, 119, of processing the received data, and ofproviding appropriate outputs 134, 136 to effect the user's desiredoperation of device 100. Processor 114 may be implemented with any typeof hardware, firmware and/or software logic, and may include associatedstorage (e.g. storage device 116 and/or other digital storage not shownin FIG. 1) for maintaining data and instructions used in operatingdevice 100. Processor 114 may be implemented with any type ofmicroprocessor or microcontroller, for example, with any associateddigital memory or the like for storing program instructions and data inany suitable format.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A-B, processor 114 receivesforce indications 120A-C from force sensors such as snap dome switches118A-B and/or strain gauge 119 (respectively), and also receivesproximity indications 115 from proximity sensor 105. As discussed morefully below, indications 115, 120A-C may be any discrete signals and/orstreams of signals that individually or collectively represent userinputs and other information received from sensors 105, 118A-B, 119.Processor 114 also appropriately produces signals 134, 136 that resultin user interface features (e.g. scrolling, cursor control, itemselection or the like) on display 104 and/or on an external host coupledto device 100 via interface 132, and/or performs other suitable tasksassociated with the operation of device 100.

Proximity sensor 105 is any single or combination of capacitive,resistive, inductive or other type of sensor that is capable ofdetecting the position, proximity and/or other position-based indication115 of a finger, stylus or other object 128 with respect to sensingregion 102 of device 100. Exemplary sensors 105 include the varioussensors produced by Synaptics Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., whichappropriately detect a zero dimensional (e.g. presence andnon-presence), one dimensional, two dimensional or multi-dimensionalposition of an object 128 using capacitive or inductive coupling,although many different types of sensors 105 could be used in a widearray of alternate embodiments. Other types of sensors 105 capable ofdetecting position, proximity or related attributes include sensorsbased upon acoustic, optical, or electromagnetic properties (e.g. radiofrequency, infrared, ultraviolet or the like), and/or any other effects.

As used herein, the term “proximity sensor” is intended to encompass notonly conventional touchpad sensors, but also a broad range of equivalentsensors 105 that are capable of detecting the position or proximity ofone or more fingers, pointers, styli or other objects 128. Such sensors105 may include, without limitation, touch screens, touch pads, touchtablets, scroll strips or rings, biometric authentication devices (e.g.fingerprint sensors), handwriting or character recognition devices, andthe like. Similarly, the terms “proximity”, “position”, “objectposition” and “position-based attribute” as used herein are intended tobroadly encompass various types of absolute or relative positional orproximity information as well as other types of spatial-domaininformation such as speed, velocity, acceleration, and the like,including measurement of motion in one or more directions. Variousposition-based attributes may also include time history components, asin the case of gesture recognition and the like. Accordingly, manydifferent types of “proximity sensors” 105 may be capable of detectingwidely varying “proximity-based attributes” beyond the mere presence orabsence of an object 128 in a wide array of alternate but equivalentembodiments.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A-B, proximity sensor105 is a conventional touchpad-type sensor that includes any number ofelectrodes 112 and associated processing circuitry 110 disposed upon anytype of substrate 108. Substrate 108 may be any flexible or rigidsurface capable of supporting circuitry 110 and electrodes 112 and ofbeing conveniently mounted within housing 106 of device 100. In theexemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, substrate 108 is implemented witha flexible material (e.g. a polyethylene terephthalate or polyimide filmor the like) that permits deformation of sensor 105 during actuation offorce sensors 120A-B or 122, as described more fully below. Substrate108 is typically mounted within housing 106 using, any mechanical,adhesive or other techniques to allow detection of object 128 along ornear sensing region 102. Sensing region 102, although shown as adiscrete element in FIGS. 102, may simply represent the area near device102 in which user inputs applied with object 128 can be detected. Invarious embodiments, region 102 is demarked on device 100 with atouch-friendly surface formed of MYLAR material, plastic, glass and/orthe like. In such embodiments, sensing region 102 is typically affixedto housing 106 using an adhesive, mechanical fastener or other techniquethat prevents dust, moisture and/or other environmental contaminantsfrom entering the interior of housing 106. Although not shown in FIGS. 1and 2A-B, sensing region 102 may be covered during operation and/orstorage of device 100 in various embodiments. Various types coverings(e.g. dustcovers, flip covers, pouches, wallets, scratch protectorsand/or the like) may be present during operation of device 100, or maybe intended to be removed prior to operation. Accordingly, object 128need not come into direct contact with sensing region 102 to applyinputs in all embodiments.

Although sensor 105 may be implemented in any manner, a conventionalcapacitive touchpad-type sensor 105 includes one or more electrodes 112that detect changes the proximity of object 128 along or near sensingregion 102 by sensing changes in electrical capacitance due to thepresence of object 128. Generally speaking, the two predominanttechniques for capacitively sensing the proximity of object 128 involvedetecting either the capacitance between the object and one or moreelectrodes (which generally increases as object 128 approaches thesensing electrode 112), or detecting the capacitance between two or moreelectrodes 112. In the latter case, a carrier signal is typicallyapplied at a first electrode 112 and received at a second electrode 112.As the detected object 128 approaches either electrode, the capacitanceof the transmitted signal is affected. In either case, a proximityindication 115 may be determined by monitoring changes in capacitanceobserved by the electrodes 112 over time. An example of a conventionaltechnique for capacitively sensing and processing object position in atouchpad is set forth in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,411, although anyother sensing techniques could be used in a wide array of alternateembodiments.

Force sensors 118A-B, 120 are any single or combination of devices,components, circuitry or the like capable of detecting the applicationof physical force. Examples of force sensors that may be used in variousembodiments include mechanical switches such as binary/multi-levelswitches, analog switches, individual or sets of strain gauges, and/orthe like. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A-B, sensingregion 102 is initially mechanically or otherwise biased into anon-deformed position (shown in FIG. 1) when no force is exerted byobject 128. As object 128 exerts physical force against sensing region102 (as shown in FIGS. 2A-B), however, sensing region 102 moves and/orotherwise responds in any manner that creates a force against one ormore switches 118A-B and/or that creates mechanical strain detectable bysensor 119. Sensing region 102 can manifest a response to physical forcethrough any sort of strain, deformation, rotation, translation, othermovement and/or the like. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2A,for example, sensing region 102 and proximity sensor 105 are designed tobe flexible such that force applied by object 128 results in detectablephysical deformation of the sensing region 102 itself. Alternatively,sensing region 102 and/or proximity sensor 105 may be designed morerigidly (e.g. sensor 105 may be formed on a plastic or other rigidsubstrate 108) to create physical translation and/or rotation of sensingregion 102 in response to applied force. In the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 2B, for example, sensing region 102 is allowed totranslate along one or more guides 202A-B when force is applied byobject 128. In still other embodiments, sensing region 102 and/orproximity sensor 105 are hinged to housing 106 (e.g. along faces 204 or206) to allow rotational movement with respect to the hinged point. Instill other embodiments, sensing region 102 and/or proximity sensor 105may be allowed to pivot about a fulcrum or other support point providedbelow sensing region 102, thereby allowing for application of physicalforce on one or more force detectors 118, 119 suitably arranged withrespect to the pivot point. The particular mechanical structures andarrangements of device 100 may therefore vary significantly fromembodiment to embodiment.

In any of the cases identified above, force sensors 118A-B and/or 119provide appropriate force indications 120A-C to processor 114 toindicate the presence of physical force applied against sensing region102. Although FIGS. 1 and 2A show two types of force sensors(corresponding to snap dome-type switches 118A-B and a strain gauge 119)present within device 100, in practice only one type of force sensorneed be present in a particular embodiment. Snap dome switches 118A-B,for example, typically provide simple binary output 120A-B thatindicates whether the switch is in an actuated state (e.g. switch 118Ain FIG. 2A or switch 118 in FIG. 2B) or a non-actuated state (e.g.switch 118A in FIG. 1). Strain gauge 119 may be configured to provide ananalog indication 120C that indicates the amount of force applied;alternatively, a simple binary indication 120C could indicate thepresence or absence of force as appropriate. Various other types offorce sensors 118A-B, 119 could be incorporated into a wide array ofalternate embodiments; similarly, the numbers and spatial arrangementsof the various sensors could be modified in many different ways todetect physical force applied against any portion of sensing region 102in any manner.

Various embodiments of device 100 optionally include a feedback device122 that provides physical feedback to object 128 in any suitablemanner. Feedback device 122 may be any type of haptic feedback device,for example, such a piezoelectric or other electro-mechanical actuatorthat provides mechanical force in response to electrical signals 124provided by processor 114. Such haptic feedback can improve the userexperience by providing a tactile response to force and/or proximityinputs applied by object 128. Such tactile response could be provided byvibrating or “thumping” the underside of sensing region 102, forexample, to acknowledge inputs applied by object 128 or to provide aframe of tactile reference to the user during input. That is, periodic“thumping” of the sensing region could be used to provide an indicationthat a unit of scrolling had been traversed, that an end of a scrolllist had been reached, or to provide other feedback to the user. Theparticular types of feedback provided and the techniques for providingfeedback may vary significantly between embodiments, as may thestructural design and/or location of the feedback device 122 itself.Feedback device 122 may be incorporated as part of force sensor 119, forexample, to allow for “localized” compensation for force applied andready distinguishing of physical force applied from force received. Forexample, in one embodiment, feedback device 122 and force sensor 119 maybe one single mechanical switch that provides feedback when pressed,such as a snap-dome switch. In another embodiment, feedback device 122and force sensor 119 can also include a piezoelectric component thatproduces an electrical response when deflected to indicate force appliedor deflects to provide feedback when electrically driven. Again, theparticular details of implementation could vary significantly acrossdifferent types of devices 100 in a wide array of alternate butequivalent embodiments.

In operation, then, processor 114 suitably receives force and proximityindications 120A-C and 115 (respectively) to indicate the application ofuser input by object 128. These indications 115, 120A-C may be providedand received in any manner, using any types of encoded or unencodeddigital or analog signals. Indications 115, 120A-C may be provided asrelatively continuous data streams, for example, with proximity and/orforce data extracted from each data stream by processor 114 as needed.Alternatively, indications 115, 120A-C may be provided as discretesignals that indicate changes in the proximity or force of object 128.In either case, indications 115, 120A-C may transfer information in anymanner, including any real-time, synchronous, asynchronous, batchprocessed, polled or other temporal manner, and using any form of signalencoding or the like.

Processor 114 suitably receives and processes proximity indications 115and force indications 120A-C as appropriate for the current operatingmode of device 100, and/or to switch the operating mode of device asdescribed below. In addition, processor 114 typically carries out thevarious conventional operating functions of the device 100, includinggeneration of user interface displays on display 104 and/or on anexternal host coupled via interface 132. While FIGS. 1 and 2A-B showprocessor 114 as separate from proximity-sensing circuitry 110, inpractice the various structures and processes carried out by the twomodules could be logically and/or physically combined. That is, invarious equivalent embodiments to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A-B,proximity sensor 105 includes a sensor processor 110 that may supplementor replace some or all of the functions carried out by device processor114 as described above. Force indications 120A-C, for example, could beprovided to sensor processor 110 rather than being directly provided todevice processor 114. In such embodiments, sensor processor 110 mayprovide a hybrid indication to device processor 114 that includes bothforce and proximity data as appropriate. Conversely, processing of rawproximity and/or force sensing data could be carried out withinprocessor 114, rather than in separate circuitry 110. The variousstructures and features described above and shown in the figures, then,may be modified or augmented substantially in alternate embodiments.

Turning now to FIG. 3, structures such as those described above may bereadily configured to implement a multi-modal system 300 that includes anormal operating mode 306 and a special operating mode 310 asappropriate. “Operating modes” 306 and 310 in this sense simply refer totwo different modes of responding to any trigger event. That is, atrigger event is processed differently in one operating mode 306 than inthe other operating mode 310.

In various embodiments, certain force or proximity indications may beconsidered to be trigger events that are processed differently in oneoperating mode than in another. In a “normal” operating mode 306, forexample, proximity indications 115 may be processed to providescrolling, cursor control and/or other user interface features. Forceindications 120 may be similarly processed in the normal mode to respondto button pushes or the like. When device 100 is in an operating mode306 that provides a response to proximity or force trigger events, thisresponse may incorporate item selection, cursor motion, menu navigation,scrolling, variation of a control value (e.g. increasing or decreasing avolume, tone, screen brightness or other parameter), and/or otherfeatures as appropriate. In “hold” mode 310, however, certain processingof input indications 115, 120 may be suppressed or altered asappropriate to prevent accidental processing of accidental orunintentional input. The “hold” mode 310 in this embodiment thereforesimulates the activation of a conventional mechanical hold switch inthat it provides a ready mechanism for ignoring unintended or accidentalinputs while the hold mode is active.

While “hold switch” functionality may be practiced in many differentways, an exemplary technique for processing user inputs applied withobject 128 and detected at or near sensing region 102 suitably includesthe broad steps of receiving proximity indications 115 and forceindications 120 as described above, identifying an occurrence of theuser input being indicated by both the force and proximity indications,and switching the operating mode of device 100 in response to thedetection of such an occurrence such that the device respondsdifferently to trigger events in the various operating modes (e.g. modes306, 310). As described above, proximity indications 115 and forceindications 120 may be received at processor 114 and/or any otherprocessing module in any manner. In various embodiments, indications 115and 120 are provided as one or more electrical signals that can bereceived at any discrete time and/or over any period of time. Forceindication 120, for example, may be a simple “open” or “closed”indication from a binary switch (e.g. snap domes 118A-B), or may be amore detailed indication of the amount of force detected (e.g. fromstrain gauges 119, a multi-level switch, and/or the like). Similarly,proximity indication 115 may be any discrete signal or stream of signalsthat indicate position, proximity or other spatial-based quantity ofobject 128 with respect to sensing region 102.

Detection of an occurrence or other switching event 304 may take placein any manner, and according to any suitable parameters. In variousembodiments, the proximity indication 115 and the force indication 120are each monitored upon receipt to detect the presence of user input ator near sensing region 102. In some embodiments, force input andproximity inputs may be optionally detected within a substantiallycoincident time. “Substantially coincident” in this sense means that thetwo indications 115 and 120 need not be perfectly coincident, but mayoccur within some appropriate timeframe, such as within a second or soof each other. Suitable timeframes may vary significantly from aboutzero to about ten or more seconds in various embodiments. In otherembodiments, temporal constraints upon the detection of user input withboth indications 115 and 120 are relaxed or eliminated entirely. As anexample, a user may apply proximity input (e.g. for scrolling or cursormotion) along sensing region 102 for some period of time before applyingsufficient force to activate a force indication 120. In suchembodiments, an occurrence of both indications 115, 120 indicating userinput could be detected, thereby enabling the switching of the operatingmode if appropriate.

Device 100 may be initially placed in any state (e.g. normal mode 306 orspecial mode 310), and transitions between modes 306, 310 may take placein any manner. FIG. 3 shows two examples of modal transitionscorresponding to a mode switching event 304 and a mode reversion event308. Upon an occurrence 304 of user input being indicated by both theproximity indication 115 and the force indication 120, the processingmodule switches the operating mode of device 100 as appropriate (e.g.between mode 310 and mode 306 to “unlock” user input mode functionalityand/or other features). By detecting user input with both indications115, 120, the processing module can be relatively confident that theinput is applied by the user (since the proximity indication 115 istypically only triggered by input from a stylus, finger or otherappropriate input object 128), and that the input is intentional(because the input object 128 is applying sufficient force that anaccidental touching is unlikely). By detecting both force and proximityinput, then, deliberate inputs by the user can be readily distinguishedfrom accidental “bumping” of device 100 or accidental brushing of object128 near sensing region 102, thereby leading to a high level ofconfidence that the sensed user input is intentionally applied. Thisconfidence makes the applied input particularly suitable for modeswitching, including toggling between a “hold” mode 310 and a “normal”operating mode 306, and may have other applications as well. Upondetection of an occurrence 304 of user input as indicated by bothproximity indication 115 and force indication 120, the operating modemay be switched as appropriate.

Although some embodiments will implement a mode in which force orproximity inputs are ignored or otherwise suppressed (e.g. hold mode310), this is not required in all embodiments. Force and proximityindications 120, 115 may undergo some processing within processor 114,circuitry 110 and/or like, for example, even though the indications arenot used to create user interface displays or other responses. Proximityindications 115 may be processed even during “hold” mode 310, forexample, to provide sensor calibration, detection or avoidance ofenvironmental noise, and/or other features as appropriate. While atleast one response to certain trigger event(s) takes place in certainmodes but not in others, other responses or other processing of one ormore trigger events may nevertheless take place in such modes. Further,indications received prior or during the modal change may beincorporated into responses processed after the mode change in certainembodiments. Processing of proximity inputs (for example) during anactive mode could involve processing proximity indications 115 thatrepresent user inputs applied before the device was switched into theactive mode. Stated another way, a response occurring after a modalchange may incorporate information received during or prior to the modalchange itself. A portion of a gesture, scrolling input or the likerepresented by proximity indication 115, for example, may be receivedduring or prior to receipt of force indication 120. The pre-occurringproximity indications 114 may nevertheless be used in completing andprocessing the gesture, scroll or other action as appropriate.

The particular trigger events identified and the responses provided tosuch events are not limited to “hold switch”-type functions, and mayvary widely from embodiment to embodiment. In some implementations, forexample, one operating mode may suppress responses to only force inputs,yet allow proximity inputs. Conversely, device 100 could respond toproximity inputs in one mode but not in another. Alternatively, modalchanges could be used to activate/deactivate feedback device 122,display 104, interface 132, and/or device 100 itself, and/or to activateany other switchable features, such as the “window display” modedescribed below. Further, devices 100 need not be limited to twooperating modes that are switchable by steps 304-306; to the contrary,three or more modes may be present in any number of devices.

The detection of user inputs on both force indication 120 and proximityindication 115 need not be the only event that results in a modal changeon various devices 100. To the contrary, modal changes may take place inresponse to any technique in addition to those described herein. Whilereversion event 308 shown in FIG. 3 is intended as an optional featurethat may not be present in all embodiments, it may be beneficial on somedevices 100 to manually or automatically revert to an original operatingmode or to switch to a different operating mode according to otherparameters or techniques.

After a user switches the operating mode from hold mode 310 to normalmode 306, it may be desirable to revert to the original operating modeat a subsequent time, as shown by reversion event 308 in FIG. 3. Device100 may automatically revert to the original mode after some period oftime, or reversion may take place in response to subsequent user inputsor other factors. Automatic reversion could take place after some periodof time following the initial mode switch, for example, or could takeplace when no force, proximity and/or other relevant input is appliedfor some predetermined period of time. In embodiments wherein the deviceis initially in a “hold” mode but is subsequently switched to a “normal”input mode, device 100 may automatically revert to “hold” mode when nouser input is applied for some period of time. The particular period oftime may vary significantly from a very short period (e.g. on the orderof a few seconds) to a relatively long period (e.g. several minutes,hours or more) depending upon the particular implementation. Further,the period of time may be optionally configurable by a user to allow forautomatic reversion after a particularly desired time, and/or to disableautomatic reversion if the user does not desire this feature.

Alternatively or additionally, subsequent mode switching may take placein response to inputs received at device 100. A subsequent occurrence ofuser input being indicated by both the proximity indication 115 andforce indication 120, for example, could trigger a subsequent modalchange or reversion 308 to the original operating mode. Other modalchanges could be triggered solely by force indications 120, proximityindications 115, other inputs received at the processing module, and/orthe like.

To summarize the exemplary system 300 shown in FIG. 3, then, a device100 suitably switches from a second operating mode (e.g. a hold switchmode 310) into a first operating mode (e.g. a normal input mode 306) inresponse to an occurrence 304 of the user input applied by object 128being indicated by both the force indication 120 and the proximityindication 115. In the first operating mode, a response is made tocertain trigger events (e.g. inputs identified by force indication 120,proximity indication 115 and/or the like) that is not made in the secondoperating mode. After the device is manually and/or automaticallyswitched back to the first operating mode, response is no longer made tothe corresponding trigger events. Although FIG. 3 shows system 300 asbeginning in a “non-responding” mode and subsequently switching to a“responding” mode, equivalent embodiments effectively swap modes 306 and310 to implement a device 100 that is initially in a “responding” mode,but enters a “non-responding” mode in response to the switchingoccurrence 304. Other modifications and/or enhancements to the process,many of which are set forth above, may be incorporated in a wide arrayof equivalent embodiments.

Although the various steps and features of system 300 may be implementedusing hardware, firmware and/or software modules executing withinprocessor 110, circuitry 114 and/or other computing resources asappropriate, it should be understood that FIG. 3 is intended as alogical representation of a multi-modal system 300 rather than a literalsoftware implementation. As such, the particular data structures,programming routines and the like may vary from those shown in thefigure without departing from the scope of the concepts describedherein. The processing modules implementing the various features ofsystem 300, for example, may be stored in source or object code form onany sort of digital storage medium, such as any digital memory (e.g. anystatic or dynamic RAM, flash memory, ROM or the like), any mass storagedevice (e.g. any magnetic, optical or other storage device) and/or anyportable storage media (e.g. CD-ROM, floppy disk, flash memory). Thevarious steps or modules of various implementations may be similarlystored in any networked environment and/or transmitted across anycommunications medium using any type of signal(s) modulated on a carrierwave. System 300 and its various components may therefore be modified orsupplemented in myriad ways, and may be implemented in any manner.

To that end, proximity and force indications 115, 120 may beadditionally or alternatively processed to implement other featuresbeyond those described above, including the display of informationrelative to user inputs. An exemplary device 100 showing this optionalfeature is presented in FIG. 4, and an exemplary technique 500 forimplementing optional information displays is shown in FIG. 5. Thisinformation display technique 500 may be used to enhance the modalswitching described above, and/or may be separately implemented invarious alternate embodiments.

With reference now to FIG. 4, an exemplary device 100 suitably receivesforce and proximity inputs from an input object 128 (FIG. 1) along asensing region 102. FIG. 4 shows sensing region 102 as a touch surfacethat is sealed or otherwise mounted to a front surface of housing 106.As force and proximity inputs are applied by object 128 with respect toregion 102, a user interface presented on display 104 is appropriatelyupdated. Proximity inputs received at proximity sensor 105 (FIG. 1), forexample, could result in movement of cursor 402 on display 104, whereasforce inputs received at force sensors 118A-B, 119 (FIG. 1) could resultin selection of a button (e.g. button 404) in proximity to cursor 402 ina simple “point-and-click” interface that is familiar to many users. Theexemplary information shown on display 104 in FIG. 4 and the interfacetechnique described herein is purely for purposes of illustration, andis not intended to limit the concepts described herein in any way.

In various embodiments, information windows (e.g. window 406 in FIG. 4)could be presented to the user under appropriate conditions to provideuseful information or to assist the user in any suitable manner. Suchwindows may provide information about an interface item (e.g. button404) indicated by cursor 402, for example. In the exemplary display 104of FIG. 4, window 406 provides information about button 404 in responseto proximity of cursor 402 to button 404. With primary reference to FIG.5, such a window 406 may be presented (step 508) in response to cursor402 remaining fixated upon the location of button 402 for an appropriatetime (step 504) without the force indication 120 indicating that theuser has selected the button (step 506). Stated another way, if theforce and proximity indications 120, 115 received in step 502 indicatethat the cursor 402 “dwells” in a particular region of display 104associated with an interface element 404 for a period of time withoutselection by the user, device 100 suitably presents additionalinformation on display 104 to assist the user. The particular dwell time(step 504) in which the proximity indication 115 remains substantiallyunchanging varies from embodiment to embodiment, as does the thresholdamount of physical force determined in step 506. The particular process500 shown in FIG. 5 may be supplemented or modified as appropriate topresent any relevant information (step 508) under appropriatecircumstances. The information presented need not be relatedspecifically to the interface element 404 indicated by cursor 402, forexample, but may be simply generic information relevant to device 100,the current operating mode of the device, and/or the like. Theinformation displayed could simply instruct the user to apply sufficientforce to make a selection, for example, if conditions (e.g. step 506)warranted such feedback. Information could be presented, for example, ifthe force applied by the user is zero or otherwise below an appropriatethreshold in step 506. In other embodiments, the information presentedin step 508 could be presented in response to force and/or proximityindications 120, 115 received during a “hold switch” mode as describeabove to remind the user of the current mode of the device and/or toinstruct the user to switch the operating mode before applyingsubsequent inputs. The particular information displayed and theconditions leading to such display therefore vary widely from embodimentto embodiment.

Accordingly, there are provided numerous systems, devices and processesfor implementing modal changes in a device based upon force andproximity indications. While at least one exemplary embodiment has beenpresented in the foregoing detailed description, it should beappreciated that a vast number of equivalent variations exist. Thevarious steps of the techniques described herein, for example, may bepracticed in any temporal order, and are not limited to the orderpresented and/or claimed herein. It should also be appreciated that theexemplary embodiments described herein are only examples, and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of theinvention in any way. Various changes can therefore be made in thefunction and arrangement of elements described herein without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims andthe legal equivalents thereof.

1.-57. (canceled)
 58. A processing system for an input device, theprocessing system configured to: while in a first operating mode,receive a first force indication from a force sensor, receive a firstproximity indication from a proximity sensor and provide a firstresponse based on one of the first force indication and the firstproximity indication indicating input user occurrence; and while in asecond operating mode, receive a second force indication from the forcesensor, receive a second proximity indication from the proximity sensor,and provide a second response when both the second force indication andthe second proximity indication indicate input user occurrence andwherein when only one of the second force indication and the secondproximity indication indicate input user occurrence, the processingsystem does not provide the second response.
 59. The processing systemof claim 58, wherein the second response comprises switching from thesecond operating mode to the first operating mode.
 60. The processingsystem of claim 58, wherein the first response comprises a userinterface feature.
 61. The processing system of claim 58, furtherconfigured to calibrate at least one of the proximity sensor based onproximity indication and the force sensor based on the force indicationwhile in the second operating mode.
 62. The processing system of claim58, wherein the second response comprises at least one of activating afeedback device, display device, or the input device.
 63. The processingsystem of claim 58, wherein the second response is further based theforce indication and proximity indication occurring at a substantiallycoincidental time.
 64. The processing system of claim 58, wherein theproximity sensor comprises a capacitive sensor configured to detect achange in capacitance between a first sensor electrode and a secondsensor electrode.
 65. The processing system of claim 58, wherein theproximity sensor comprises a capacitive sensor configured to detect achange in capacitance between a sensor electrode and an input object.66. The processing system of claim 58, wherein the processing systemdrives a feedback device based on at least one of the first response andthe second response.
 67. An input device comprising: a proximity sensor;a force sensor; and a processing system coupled to the proximity sensorand the force sensor, the processing system configured to: while in afirst operating mode, receive a first force indication from the forcesensor, receive a first proximity indication from the proximity sensorand provide a first response based on one of the first force indicationand the first proximity indication indicating input user occurrence; andwhile in a second operating mode, receive a second force indication fromthe force sensor, receive a second proximity indication from theproximity sensor, and provide a second response when both the secondforce indication and the second proximity indication indicate input useroccurrence and wherein when only one of the second force indication andthe second proximity indication indicate input user occurrence, theprocessing system does not provide the second response.
 68. The inputdevice of claim 67, wherein the proximity sensor device is a capacitivesensing device.
 69. The input device of claim 67, wherein the proximitysensor device comprises a fingerprint sensor.
 70. The input device ofclaim 67, further comprising a feedback device configured to providefeedback in response to at least one of the first response and thesecond response.
 71. The input device of claim 67, wherein the forcesensor comprises the feedback device.
 72. The input device of claim 67,wherein the proximity sensor is one of a touch pad, touch screen and afingerprint sensor.
 73. The input device of claim 67, wherein the forcesensor is one of a mechanical switch, strain gauge, load cell,piezoelectric force sensor and a piezoresistive force sensor.
 74. Theinput device of claim 67, wherein the processing system comprises asensor processor, and wherein the processing system is configured toprovide the first response and the second response to a deviceprocessor.
 75. A method of processing user input in an input device, themethod comprising: while in a first operating mode, receiving a firstforce indication from a force sensor, receiving a first proximityindication from a proximity sensor and providing a first response inresponse to one of the first force indication and the first proximityindication indicating input user occurrence; and while in a secondoperating mode, receiving a second force indication from the forcesensor, receiving a second proximity indication from the proximitysensor, and providing a second response in response to both the secondforce indication and the second proximity indication indicating inputuser occurrence and wherein in response to only one of the second forceindication and the second proximity indication indicate input useroccurrence, the second response is not provided.
 76. The method of claim75, wherein the second response comprises switching from the secondoperating mode to the first operating mode.
 77. The method of claim 75,wherein the second response is further based on the force indication andproximity indication occurring at a substantially coincident time.